Gamertags and Screennames
by KismetDoll
Summary: Riku can only laugh as Axel attempts to teach Sora how to hold a controller in between his unrealistic efforts to attain Rank 50. Sadly, being pistol whipped into oblivion by his rival, NoXIII, seems to be the only thing Axel does right. AkuRoku  SoRiku
1. Zoom! Welcome to Xbox Live

Title: Gamertags and Screennames  
Series: Kingdom Hearts II  
Author: ConfessYourSins  
Rating: PG-13  
Main Characters: Axel, Roxas, Sora, Riku  
Warnings: Language, BL  
Pairings: AkuRoku, SoRiku  
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts II or the characters in it.

A.N. This is dedicated to all my wonderfully amazing (verbose aren't I??) **reviewers**, especially those who were kind enough to accept my invitation to "vote" for which story they wanted me to write next. So here it is, finally. As I write this, I am forcing my dear **Sora MUSE **to write me a summary, being as I suck. She writes about ninety percent of my summaries...

So of _course_ I can't forget my betas extraordinaire: 1/2 of **The Medic **(not my half, but my dear **Sora MUSE**, who rocks!!), **Beutelmaus **(thanks for taking the time to write me craploads of feedback on my UNBETA'D stories) and of course **Mikomi-Kiyoko **(who is the cutest Roxas cosplayer ever, FYI).

**Gamertags and Screennames**

**Chapter One  
_Zoom! Welcome to Xbox Live_**

* * *

Axel threw his controller on the ground; the _new _black Elite controller Riku had just bought along with his _new _black Elite Xbox 360. Riku stared at the controller, then turned to Axel who was sitting on the couch and slapped the redhead in the side of the head. "What the _hell _is your problem?!" 

"Stupid Halo 2… I hate that game," Axel grumbled as he shied away from Riku's angry hand.

"What," he asked with a snide look on his face, "did you get beat again?"

"I _hate _snipers. I _suck _at snipers."

Riku smirked and nodded his head. Axel had never been too good at destroying things when it required even the _slightest _bit of precision. Give him a rocket and BOOM!, that was the end of that. A sniper rifle? He was as good as dead.

Axel sighed and sulked against the couch, turning his head away from Riku. "I am _not_ going to play this game anymore. Just call Microsoft and tell them to cancel my membership. I'm done. I'm fucking _done _with this game."

"Really? Because I don't have a problem doing that," Riku said as he picked up the cordless phone off the sidetable. "Okay… 1-800-4-My-Xbox…"

"Hey!" Axel shouted as he grabbed the phone away from Riku. "I wasn't _serious! _I still play other games online…"

Riku rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders back. "Hey, _you're _the one that said you wanted to cancel it. Not my problem. I was trying to do you a favor."

After a roll of the eyes, this time from Axel, Riku stood up and walked across the room to pick up the Xbox controller. He tossed it back to Axel who caught it, just as Axel chirped, "Wanna play _for _me?"

"What, to increase your ranking? No way."

"But you're a level _50," _Axel whined. "You have a _halo _as your rank! And it fucking _glows!"_

"That's because I _practice, _idiot. Just… stop playing for a while. Go watch Red vs. Blue or something."

Axel chuckled. "Cockbite."

"Roosterteeth."

_"Cockbite."_

_"Roosterteeth," _Riku retorted. "Are we _really _going to argue about this? Just stick it in and watch that for a while. I'll order pizza or something. Are you hungry?"

"Hell yeah. Ugh… I can't believe I'm only rank 30…"

"That's still an accomplishment. And for chrissakes, you work for _Microsoft. _Deal with it; I mean, don't you get to play games all day?"

Axel tried not to laugh; he really did, but as usual it came out as a half-snort, half-yelp. "No, I _don't _get to play games all day! I get to train, drive around to every store in this district, and train _other people _about Microsoft products. Most of it is about software anyway, not games. The 360 is just one small part of Microsoft's lineup that we're training on. Plus, with Halo 3 coming out soon I've got my work cut out for me. The Elite just came out, so we're backordered on all of those… I mean, even _Best Buy _only got eight per store in this last shipment. GameStop and EBGames only got three per store!"

"Uh huh…" Riku mumbled as he waved his fingers in Axel's direction, only half listening. He then got out his cell phone and dialed the pizza place only to be greeted with very loud hold music.

Of course, not loud enough to tune Axel out _entirely_.

"Sure. Gotcha," he responded numbly. Riku suddenly found great entertainment in watching his neighbor across the street through the kitchen window.

_At no point does plaid _ever _match with stripes, _he thought to himself, still catching bits and pieces of Axel's usual conversation with himself. The thought of recording Axel speaking came to mind, just to play it back to him eventually, but was whisked away as he realized that the plaid was red and the stripes were neon green and black.

_No… never, _Riku immediately decided. _That's a fucking sin if I've ever seen one._

"…I'm serious. We're almost as bad as Nintendo with getting the Wii's out there. Shit. And the Wii is somehow managing to outsell the PlayStation 3 by almost two to one here in the States!"

Riku's attention came to as the phone stopped playing bad elevator music and a voice asked what he wanted to order. "Can I get a large Hawaiian Pizza, regular crust? … Oh, and cheesy breadsticks, extra marinara sauce… Uh huh. Okay. Thanks. Bye."

"…the issues with the 'Red Ring of Death' as it has so kindly been named… even the other guys at _work _have started calling it that… anyway, we had to increase the warranty to _three whole years_ and refund everyone who paid for their system to get fixed because of that issue. Man, it's costing the company a _shitload _of money."

"Are you _still _talking about that? Because I just ordered pizza and you weren't even paying attention," Riku grumbled as he put his cell phone in his pocket. "And put that back on the charger. I don't want it dying again. I _hate _when that happens."

Axel nodded his head in an admitted defeat and put the phone back in its cradle, crawling over half the couch to do so. "My job is _interesting," _he pointed out to Riku as he reclined back and stared at the silver-haired boy. "All _you _do is sit around and type code all day. _Bo-_ring!" he sang. "How is that fun at all?"

"It's fun because I get to test out the games when I'm done. So shove it, Axel."

"Yeah, whatever…"

As Axel trailed off Riku's phone started ringing; his ringtone was, of course, the theme for Halo. "Hello?" he said as he answered it. "Oh, hey Sora. What? …Oh, we just ordered pizza." He paused, then answered, "Me and Axel… I kind of work with him… Yeah, the neighbor. Uh huh… okay. I'll see you later then." He closed the phone and stuck it back in his pocket as Axel leered at him from the couch.

"Who was _that?" _he teased with a menacing grin. "Your girlfriend?"

"Sora? No, he's my best friend."

"I thought _I _was your best friend!" Axel exclaimed.

Riku rolled his eyes for probably the millionth time that day and walked over to the couch, plopping himself down on the opposite end that Axel was on. "No, you're just a co-worker. Sort of. Anyway, he wanted to know if he could stop by later."

"Does he game too?"

"Sora? Uh, not really. He gets pretty emotional when he plays Halo… plus, he's one of those kids that flings the controller in the direction that he's trying to run." Riku made an exaggerated movement to the right with a fake controller in his hand. "Plus, he can't run and gun. He stops, turns, and shoots. But by the time he shoots he's already dead."

Axel burst into a semi-retarded fit of laughter, rolling off the couch and onto the floor. "Are you _serious?! _How is he your friend then? I mean… you're one of the top ranked players on Halo 2! Shit! You should like… get him a Wii or something. At least _then _he might get somewhere!"

"I don't care that he doesn't game. I prefer it that way; it means I can go out and _do things _in _real life _as opposed to sitting around trying to increase my rank," Riku spat back. Axel stopped rolling around on the floor and sat up, giving Riku an amused but annoyed look.

"I do stuff."

"Your best friends are on Xbox Live. That doesn't _count."_

"Does too!"

Riku tried to contain himself. "Uh huh, okay."

"You're just jealous."

"Of what? Your _fake _friends?"

"Shut _up!"_

Riku arched a brow as he threw his legs over the side of the couch. "Whatever. Sora's a lot of fun; you should meet him. He just moved here a few weeks ago, but I haven't really seen him since I've been so tied up with work."

"Yeah… uh huh."

"Axel," Riku warned.

"Okay, okay. I know. Making games and shit. Whatever, I get it. They already announced that they're pushing the date back another six months. You've got time."

"They pushed it back because we're so _behind, _Axel. Just because they pushed the date back doesn't mean I can slack. There's a lot of work that goes into making games."

"Yup. I know."

"You are _really_ starting to get on my nerves," Riku growled.

Axel laughed and stood up, stretching his arms above his head. "But you adore me, so it's okay."

Riku tried not to gag. "If you say so. God forbid I intrude on your delusional perception of reality."

"Uh huh. Don't do that. I wouldn't want you to break my fragile little mind into pieces, Ri."

"I _hate _when you call me that. It's Ri-_ku, _not Ri."

"Uh huh, Ri."

"Axel!" Riku shouted as he threw a pillow at the tall redhead. "Shut _up!"_

Axel barely managed to dodge just as there was a knock on the door. Both of their attention was redirected as there was a second knock. "Hello?" someone said. "Are you home?"

Axel arched a brow as Riku got off the couch and went to the door. "Is the pizza here already?" he asked as Riku glanced back at him for a moment. "It doesn't _sound _like the pizza guy…"

Riku opened the door and found Sora standing before him in a rather strange outfit: too tiny red shorts, a tight black shirt, black button down with the sleeves rolled up, and black tennis shoes. "Sora?" he said with a questioning look. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh… can I come in?"

Riku nodded and let the much shorter and smaller boy inside the apartment, closing the door behind him. Axel eyed the guest curiously from the floor, a smirk on his face. "Hello there, kiddie."

"Huh?" Sora grabbed Riku's arm and half hid behind the taller boy, staring at Axel. "Who're you?"

"Axel. Got it—"

"Shut up, Axel. I am so _sick _of that stupid line," Riku said as he rolled his eyes. He pulled Sora out from behind him and put his hand on Sora's shoulder. "Sora, Axel. Axel, Sora. Do me a favor, Axel, and don't eat him. Or burn him."

Axel grinned as he pulled a lighter out of his too-tight black and green plaid pants, flipping it open and lighting it. "Aww… why not?"

"Because, I don't want you to kill my best friend."

Sora smiled and waved at Axel, ignoring the lighter. "Hi."

"Aren't you a little _old _to be shopping in the kids' department?" Axel asked as he stood up and walked over to Sora, tugging on his shorts. "I mean… this is a bit much. Or little. Even for me."

Sora blushed a ridiculous red and shrank back slightly. "Umm, I'm not used to doing my own laundry. It came out like this."

"Did you put it on high heat or something?" Riku asked as he went into the kitchen. "Because if all of that's cotton and it wasn't pre-washed to prevent shrinking, that'll happen."

"I… don't even know what that means!" Sora admitted awkwardly as he put his hand behind his head and laughed. "Maybe next time you'll show me how?"

"Yeah, just let me know. Sorry I've been so busy," Riku said as he came back out of the kitchen with two beers and a Cola. "Here, Sora." He handed him the Cola, then turned to Axel and handed him a beer. "How do you like it so far? In the big city, I mean."

"Um, it's okay. My roommate's really nice! He has a really cool job; I think you would like him. He works for Best Buy. He just transferred to the one down the street from here, actually. He's a manager or something."

"You have a roommate? I thought you were going to live by yourself."

Sora nodded his head. "Yeah, well… rent's a little higher than I thought. I don't really make as much as you do…" he trailed off and blushed again. "But I'll get by!" he said energetically.

Axel half-smiled at Riku. "Kid's cute. So I guess you're _both _from some hodunk town in BFE."

"BF… E?" Sora repeated. Riku slapped a hand to his forehead and sighed.

"Yeah, BFE," Axel explained. "Butt-fuck Egypt. Middle'a nowhere. Yanno?"

"O-oh."

Axel laughed. "Man, you really _are _from BFE. Riku's got a lot to teach you about the big city, kiddie. Lots'a scary perverts running around looking for a cute piece'a ass like y—"

"Jesus Axel!" Riku shouted as he threw his unopened beer in the redhead's direction. Axel stuck his hand out and caught it, scowling at Riku.

"Alcohol abuse, hello!"

"It was _closed, _moron."

"Uh huh… but it could have popped _open _and then we would've had a real problem," he insisted.

Riku sighed and shook his head. "Well, now that we're all acquainted…"

"Hey Riku? Can I borrow some clothes?" Sora asked urgently. "I don't wanna walk home in this outfit! If there really _are _perverts…"

"Yeah, that's fine. They're probably gonna be a little big on you, though." Riku lead Sora into his room and handed him some clothes, then closed the door behind himself. He gave Axel a dirty look as he grabbed the beer out of his hand and folded his arms over his chest.

"What?" Axel asked as he opened his beer and took a sip out of it. "I was just warning the kid!"

"He's only a year younger than us, first of all. And second, don't scare him like that. This is his first time in the city; besides, I don't want a call from Kairi complaining about how he refuses to leave the apartment and lost his job or something…" the words were sour as they came out of Riku's mouth and he made a face. "Ugh."

"Who's Kairi? Why don't I know any of your friends?"

Riku coughed as he choked back a laugh. "Because you're an embarrassment to the human civilization."

"Am not!"

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Kairi is Sora's… kinda girlfriend. I think. We all grew up together. She moved here about six months ago and I assume she's the one who's been helping Sora out. She's a nice girl, real cute. Just a little annoying when it comes to Sora. She's like a mother hen…"

Axel grinned and took another sip of his beer. "And you're not papa hen?"

"Hens are female. Roosters are male," Riku pointed out.

"Eh, whatever. You're not papa? Giving him clothes to change into and shit…" Axel laughed and waved a hand around. "I mean, the kid just showed up on your doorstep dressed in… well, I don't really know _what _he was dressed in."

"Are you trying to imply something?" Riku asked in a dangerously low voice. "Because if you _are…"_

"Not really. I'm just saying."

Sora burst out of the bedroom, happy as could be, in a new change of clothes. "What a relief!" he screamed as he jumped up and down. "They're not tiny!"

Axel's mouth nearly hit the floor. _Riku sure does have interesting taste in dressing his friends, _he thought. The spiky-headed brunet didn't seem the type to wear anything Riku did, least of all any of Riku's baggy blue cargo pants – which were way too long – or his too-short zippered vests that said 'hello, bellybutton.'

Sora zipped the bottom zipper up, then down, then up again, leaving half of his stomach exposed. "Lookie!"

"Uh huh, now that we know you have a navel, mind keeping your clothes on?" Axel said sarcastically before downing his beer and crushing the can in his hand. He pulled a cigarette out from behind his ear and lit it, blowing the smoke out in rings. "I understand that you're absolutely _fascinated _with the progression of modern science in clothing but—"

"Axel," Riku warned, cutting him off. "Leave him alone."

"Okay, okay," Axel mumbled as he took a spot on the couch and grabbed a glass ashtray. "So Sora… what do you do?"

"For a job?"

"Yeah."

Sora blushed but Axel couldn't see it. He was too busy checking his messages in Halo 2. "I just got a job at a clothing place… I think it's called Hot Topic."

Axel choked on his cigarette and coughed hard, his face turning red. _"You're _going to work at Hot Topic? Who the hell hired you?!"

"Why? What's wrong with it?"

"It's… it's for…" he looked at Sora and shook his head. "Yer not emo, or gothic, or anything even _remotely _emogothiclicious."

"Emogothi-wha?" Sora repeated.

"Emogothiclicious. You're… normal. Mainstream. Average," Axel explained as nicely as possible. "Hot Topic is for punks and goths and rich kids who want to rebel against society by conforming to a subculture. You're none of that."

Riku couldn't help but nod his head. "Axel's got a point. Uh, they have a kind of dress code…"

"Oh yeah. They said I should wear their merchandise. They gave me some stuff for free, which was cool. I haven't tried any of it on though. Or even looked at it, really… lots of belty-chain thingies, though. It looked okay."

"So you've been in there?" Riku asked. "And you didn't think it was weird?"

"No. Just lots of black and red… kinda like your friend," Sora said, pointing to Axel. "How do you… well, is it _hard _for you to get dressed in the morning? I mean, with the make-up and pants and shirt… thingy?"

Axel arched a brow, lip twitching. "What do you mean?"

"I… you… uhm…" he wrinkled his nose cutely and looked at Riku, giving him the big eyes that screamed, 'save me Riku!'

"Axel's more into that… scene."

"Oh. Scene?"

"Are you really that naïve? Or were you just seriously sheltered as a kid?" Axel asked as he put his cigarette out. He stretched out on the couch, his shirt riding up to expose a sliver of smooth, pale stomach. Sora eyed him curiously, noticing that he had a tattoo on his hips that went underneath his clothes…

Sora blushed and lowered his eyes. Axel noticed and laughed. "Just don't think too much about how low _that _goes, kiddie. And uh… well… if you want, I can help you out in the clothing department so you don't seem like a _complete '_tard on your first day of work."

"Really?"

Axel shrugged. "Yeah, bring your clothes over tomorrow or something. I'm across the hall from Riku. I'll help get you ready. When do you start work?"

"Um, day after tomorrow. Wow, thanks a lot!"

"No problem."

Riku eyed Axel nervously, and then sighed. "Okay, okay…"

The doorbell interrupted Riku.

"Yes, _pizza!" _Axel shouted as he threw the controller onto the floor and nearly attacked the door. Riku gritted his teeth as he stared at the controller lying there, taunting him.

_I am going to kill you, _were the last words Riku thought before picking the controller up and throwing it at Axel's head. Axel hit the floor with a thud, as did the controller, minus one analog stick.

"Fuck!"


	2. Emogothiclicious

****

**Gamertags and Screennames**

**Chapter Two  
**_Emogothiclicious_

* * *

Axel threw his arm over the side of the bed and grabbed his phone. He groaned as he haphazardly flipped open his LG Fusic – custom red, of course – and made a half-assed attempt to say hello.

"Axel, get up. Sora's on his way to see you with his clothes. Don't ruin him, because I'll kill you. Just get him dressed, show him how to do… uh, it… and meet me at Starbucks when you're done. I'm on break in about an hour so hopefully you'll be done by then, right?"

"Uh… sure," Axel mumbled as he looked at the clock. It was just after noon. "Yeah, that's fine. He knows which one it is?"

"Yeah. Promise me you won't ruin him."

"Ruin him?" Axel grinned wildly and, even though Riku couldn't actually _see _him grin, he felt the corner of his eye twitch.

"Don't make him scary like you are."

"What the hell's so scary about me?!"

Riku didn't say anything for a moment, then replied, "Everything. The hair, the tattoos, the eye makeup… The clothes. How is it that you work for Microsoft as a rep again?"

Axel groaned and sat up in bed. "A friend of a friend, 'kay? I'm good at what I do, in case you didn't notice. Anyway, I'm going to get dresse—" Axel was cut off by a knock on the door. "… Riku, I thought you said he was on his way. Not _here."_

"Sora lives a block down the street. That's why I called."

"Asshole."

"Whatever. Meet me at Starbucks in an hour. If you destroy Sora I'll kill you."

"Touchy, touchy, aren't we?"

Riku hung up the phone.

"Yeah, love you too," Axel grumbled as he threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He stretched quickly as there was another knock. At least Sora wasn't yelling at him to open the door. He trudged his way to the front door and opened it, rubbing his eyes as Sora smiled and waved at him happily.

"Hello!"

"Uh, hi," he mumbled as he waved Sora in and slammed the door shut. Sora yelped and jumped, realizing there were no lights in the apartment and threw his hands out, looking for something to hold onto.

"Gimme a sec," Axel hissed as he brushed by Sora before tapping on a light switch. Sora was utterly amazed at Axel's instincts and how he somehow managed to avoid the laundry basket, a towering stack of magazines, broken PlayStation controller, and seven – yes _seven – _pizza boxes that were strewn directly in his path of said light switch.

"There," he said, slightly annoyed. He crossed his arms over his chest and continued, "Okay, let's see what you've got here."

Sora set his bag on the only open space on Axel's table; the rest of the table was covered in gaming magazines, newspapers, product information guides, and old pizza crusts. No plates or boxes since those were on the floor, just pizza crusts, and what appeared to be a half-eaten piece of cake. At least, that's what it looked like to Sora.

He didn't want to know what it really was.

"Uh huh…" Axel went through Sora's clothes and nodded his head approvingly. "Well, at least they gave you colors that work on you. Red and black alone isn't so much your thing. But bold colors are. Red, blue, yellow, green… not bad. Cute."

Sora smiled and nodded, touching one of the spikes on his head. "What about my hair? Do I have to change my hair?"

"Uh… What do you do to it now?"

Sora blinked. "Now? Umm… nothing."

"You just… wake up and it looks like _that?" _Axel asked incredulously, staring at Sora. "With the spikes and everything?"

"Yeah."

"Holy shit. Well uh, I guess we don't have to do much with it. How do you feel about… makeup?"

"What about it?"

"Well, a little eyeliner goes a long way."

Sora shrugged. "As long as I don't look like a girl."

Axel refrained from making any smart-alec comments. "Okay, let's do this. Go change in my room, it's down the hall. And don't touch _anything. _Got it memorized?"

"Uh huh," Sora said mindlessly as he took the clothes from Axel and walked away. A few minutes later he came out dressed in tight black Dickies that fell at just the right spot on his hips, complete with a bullet belt and wallet chain. The shirt was green with yellow writing on it – something in Japanese, Axel assumed – and fit well, although it was a little long for his tastes.

Axel walked over to Sora and grabbed him by the belt, pulling him closer.

"Eep!" Sora yelped as he tried to swat Axel away.

"Chill, lemme fix it!" Axel growled as he stuck his hand out to cover Sora's face. Sora stopped flailing and Axel removed his hand, then took the end of Sora's shirt and tucked the front into the pants. He left the back untucked, stood back, and nodded. "Not bad, not bad at all. Okay, lemme give you some flair…"

"Flair?"

"Buttons, pins, shit like that. C'mere."

Sora followed Axel into the kitchen where Axel threw open a drawer filled with little knick knacks. He grabbed a handful of them and started to attach them to Sora in whatever place he deemed worthy. Sora ended up with ten buttons going down the left outer seam of his pants, starting just below the belt.

Axel bit his lip for a second, then pulled a pair of scissors out of _nowhere _and grinned at Sora. It was a scary, toothy grin only seen, Sora assumed, before Axel ate people.

"Don't eat me!" Sora yelped as he jumped back.

"Huh? Oh, I only eat babies," he said matter-of-factly. "Now come here, I won't hurt you, shit."

Sora did as he was told and Axel took the scissors to the bottom of Sora's pants, cutting two inches up the inner and outer seams on both legs. He then took safety pins – also pulled out of nowhere – and safety pinned them back together.

"Go look at yourself in the mirror," Axel instructed. Sora did as he was told and gawked at himself. He looked so… "Emo. You look emo. But it's the good kind. You're skinny enough to pull it off." Axel walked up behind him then pulled out a stick of eyeliner and grabbed Sora's chin, turning him around and grinning.

"Huh? What's that?" Sora asked.

"Eyeliner. Close your eyes and tilt your head up." Axel expertly lined Sora's eyes with just a tad of eyeliner and finished with a bit of mascara. He grinned as he put the makeup away and folded his arms over his chest. "Hot damn, I'm a genius. Even _you _couldn't fuck this up."

Sora stared at himself in the mirror again and was surprised that he actually _liked _the makeup; not for everyday use, of course, but enough that he wouldn't mind wearing it at work. He smiled and clapped his hands together in approval.

"And off we go to Starbucks," Axel sang in tune to the theme from The Wizard of Oz as he threw on a black t-shirt over his red pajama pants. He didn't bother to change; it was only Starbucks, after all.

The walk was all of two minutes down the street and it didn't take them two seconds to spot Riku standing outside the entrance, a cigarette between his lips.

Sora waved and called out, "Hey Riku!"

Riku looked over and stared at Sora, the cigarette falling out of his mouth and onto the ground. Axel could read the look on Riku's face like it was in plain English: Holy shit, what did you do to Sora? Axel grinned as Sora ran over to Riku and gave him a quick hug.

"Y-you… holy… Axel, _he_ did this?" Riku asked as he gave Sora a once-over. "Damn."

"Careful," Axel warned as he arched a brow. "Might give some people the wrong impression!"

Riku chuckled nervously and nodded his head, casting his eyes down. "Uh, yeah. So do you guys want some coffee?" 

"Is it on you?" Sora inquired as he tried not to laugh at Riku's still wide eyes. He poked Riku in the chest and Riku promptly looked up. "Well? Because I'm still broke 'cause I haven't started work yet."

Sora's smile could melt even the iciest of hearts. How could Riku say no? He nodded slowly, holding the door open for Sora and Axel. Sora ran inside to the counter while Riku grabbed Axel's arm, holding him back for a second. "I can't believe you _did that _to him," he hissed.

Axel shrugged Riku's arm away. "Hey, it looks good on the kid. Almost suits him, almost. He's a little too… _Sora _to wear that every day, though. Pity…" Axel winked at Riku then hurried inside with Riku following, completely dumbfound.

_Sometimes I wonder about Axel…_

"I want a frappuccino! A _vanilla _one, venti size!" he told the guy behind the counter. The guy nodded slowly, staring at Sora like he'd never seen something quite so adorably rebellious; it was the only way to describe Sora at that particular moment in time. Or any moment in time, dressed the way he was; if the time-space continuum were to rupture and send them to entirely different futures, Sora would still be getting the same look.

Axel ordered next, a caramel macchiato with a double shot of espresso, and Riku settled for juice. The last thing he needed was caffeine after Sora's change of costume. They stood up front, waiting for their drinks while Sora fiddled with his shirt and belt.

"Do you like it?" he asked Riku, leaning back on his heels and smiling softly. Riku nodded. "Really? I was hoping you would. I think it's a cool outfit. Axel's really good at stuff like this…"

"Yeah, I'm pretty much a genius," Axel commented absently as he played with a rubber band. The rubber band stretched and shot off his finger into some unknown area of the store, Axel laughing and quickly turning toward Riku. "So, _Riku, _what's your favorite part of the outfit?" Axel asked as he grabbed Sora's hips and pushed him toward Riku.

Sora yelped and Riku blushed furiously as he shook his head. "Shit Axel, you know I'm not into clothes like that," he spat back. Sora's face fell and he tilted his head down, embarrassed. "But uh, it works for you?" he offered, noticing Sora's sudden bout of depression. Sora quickly cheered up and gave Riku a big grin.

"I like the shirt. And belt. They're my favorite."

"I like the pants, I guess," Riku threw in for good measure.

"They're kinda tight… but they're comfortable." Sora swung his hips around and both Axel and Riku nearly fell over. Sora might have only been a little younger, but sometimes Riku really wondered if Sora was a ten year old in a twenty year old's body.

"Here you go," the guy from behind the counter said, pushing their drinks forward. "And great outfit," he said to Sora with a wink. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Riku was too astonished to inform the man that he was being more than just a _little _bold.

Sora stared at the guy. "Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, are you dating anyone?" The guy leaned in closer, a small smile tugging on his lips as he undressed Sora with his eyes. Sora blushed and looked down at the floor to break eye contact, fumbling with his words.

Axel nudged Riku and hissed, "The kid's gonna end up going on a date because he's too fucking nice. _Do _something!"

"You do it!" Riku hissed back.

Axel rolled his eyes. "Dude, I look like a child molester; no one's gonna believe I'm his boyfriend."

Riku sighed and tried not to cringe too much. "Uh, sorry. He's taken," he spoke up, putting his arm around Sora's waist.

The guy behind the counter laughed and nodded. "I should've guessed. How long have you guys been together?"

"Two years, three months, and twenty-four days!" Axel announced. Riku and Sora stared at Axel. "Yep, twenty-four days today… Wow. What an accomplishment." His soft – for once – laughter filled the room as they walked out of Starbucks and took a seat at the tables in front of the store.

Riku sighed and shook his head, opening his juice and taking a sip. "I am _never _going out with you again, dressed like _that_," he said to Sora. "Ever."

Sora's face was still flushed from the conversation inside. "Umm, yeah. Okay. Do I really… look _gay?!" _His words came out panicked and Axel arched a brow.

"A little homophobic, are we?" he asked.

"No!"

"Well then, what's the problem?"

Sora shook his head and started sipping at his coffee. "Nothing… I just… I didn't know people assumed I was gay. I'm not…" he trailed off.

_Oh my, how I do love a secret, _Axel thought gleefully.

"It's okay, Sora," Axel said cheerfully; oddly cheerfully, and Riku arched a brow at the redhead. "If you were… _I _wouldn't mind."

Sora coughed awkwardly. "Uh, thanks for the support, Axel."

"No problem, kiddo."

Riku refrained from beating his neighbor. He figured he'd save that for the next time they played Halo 2 together.

* * *

Special thanks to **Mikomi Kiyoko **for beta'ing this. And of course, I need to present my dedications: **tweekers, **for reviewing every chapter, even when reading them back to back; **Terranei Parker **for sticking with me lol; **Beutelmaus **as well for sticking with me and, as a fellow writer, seriously kicking ass; and everyone else who reviewed and hasn't completely abandoned me .

I hope you enjoyed, and FYI, **Something About Shopping Lists, Chapter 4 **is in the works and due out in two weeks, so be prepared for AkuRoku drama, the emergence of two new characters, and an actual plot that doesn't only involve massive make-out sessions in coat checks!!

confess


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